The Market @ The Village in Niagara on the Lake is pleased to announce that Farmers’ Market opens for the season this Saturday May 23rd. Although things will look a bit different this season due to Covid-19, we will still have a wide variety of local fruits, vegetables, and prepared foods. This Saturday at the Farmers’ Market, you will find vegetable plants for your garden, fresh rhubarb, asparagus, microgreens, herbs, and a few other early crops. As the weeks go by, you will be seeing more farmers joining our line-up as their produce ripens. Being a “true” farmers’ market means 100% local produce sold by our Niagara farmers. Sometimes this means being a little patient while waiting to eat the best fruit and veggies that Niagara grows. But it is definitely worth the wait! As per the Provincial Government, during the present State of Emergency, only food vendors will be allowed to sell at Ontario farmers’ markets. In addition to our local farm produce, food items that our customers will be able to purchase are local bread, eggs, honey, cheeses, wine, jams, jellies, baked goods, and take-home prepared soups and meals from our vendors. We are looking forward to seeing our customers, and getting local foods into local hands in an open-air shopping environment. We truly offer “food less touched’ – straight from the farmer or producer to your kitchen.
The health and safety of our customers, vendors and staff are of the utmost importance to us. Physical distancing practices will be in effect at Farmers’ Market. We would like to ask our customers for their patience and understanding. During this time, the Niagara on the Lake Farmers’ Market will be a food shopping experience only. Below are listed the customer guidelines that will be in place during the Provincial State of Emergency.
Niagara on the Lake Farmers’ Market Customer Guidelines
For the safety of our customers, vendors and staff, the following guidelines have been established:
Self-assessment for COVID-19 exposure and symptoms prior to entering Market area
Admittance of only one person per household at a time; pairs or groups are asked to have only one individual enter the Market
No more than 1 customer per vendor booth set up will be admitted to the Market shopping area at any given time (i.e. 10 vendors = 10 customers, etc)
Customers are required to sanitize their hands before entry to the Market area
No handling, consuming, or sampling of food will be permitted; vendors may set up a display table to showcase their products, but items for sale will be stored behind the table for completion of customer orders
Cash will be accepted by all vendors, but where possible, cashless sales are encouraged
There will be no communal seating areas
Customers are asked to maintain a safe physical separation of six feet from other shoppers, including in the entry line
Traffic-flow lines will be clearly marked in the Market area
Customers may use reusable bags, but must bag their own purchases
There will be no washroom facilities for customers
ATM will be set up onsite for customer use